The ‘No Jerk Policy’

 

When budgets are tight and the risk of programs being cut is high, what elements of an employee wellness strategy should be retained? For many corporations, the answer is fairly simple: those programs that increase the levels of employee engagement and satisfaction. Current research on this topic confirms this theory.

According to Barry Hall, a Principal with Buck Consultants and the global leader of Buck’s wellness research, “Our 2010 global wellness survey indicates that employers are putting additional focus on improving employee morale and engagement, likely due to concerns that employees have become disengaged throughout the recession. Employers recognize that retaining workers will become increasingly challenging as the job market is revitalized, and being a good place to work with a healthy culture will help them keep their best employees.”

The difference between a “good” place to work and a “not-so-good” one often boils down to the relationships our workers have with their bosses and their peers. A phenomenon that has received a lot of popular press lately is the notion of workplace bullying – which is the antithesis of what happens in a healthy office setting. Workplace bullying is repeated harassing behavior that is deliberately intended to cause harm to individuals and prevent them from excelling at work. It is a form of emotional harassment that is frequently targeted at competent employees, by their peers and, often, by managers and supervisors.

Literature consistently reveals that workplace bullying, done deliberately or unconsciously, clearly causes humiliation, offense, distress, interferes with job performance, and contributes to an unpleasant working environment (Heames and Harvey, 2006). When negative comments and intentional acts of targeted mistreatment of employees persists; organizations risk being sued, developing a negative reputation for permitting uncivil behavior, and losing the overall respect of competent employees who would otherwise be loyal and productive contributors (Heames and Harvey, 2006).

In 2007, the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI)conducted a Zogby survey, and reported an estimated 37% of employees in the United States had been bullied at work. Since the onset of the economic recession in September of 2008, the problem has gotten worse (WBI, 2010). Employees have reported this issue is a direct cause of their individual dissatisfaction on the job, high stress levels, high absentee rates, and emotional illnesses that even lead to depression.

Knowing that over 80% of bullied employees leave their jobs (Marie, 2010), which costs organizations an estimated $180 million dollars in lost productivity each year (Heames and Harvey, 2006; Farrell, 2002), creating an anti-jerk policy combined with a workplace bullying prevention program could be a key to saving a corporate wellness program.

Within organizations where bullying is ignored or little to nothing is done to stop or prevent it, the targets end up accruing a variety of costs that can range from ill health, tarnished professional reputations, and reduced productivity from high absenteeism (Farrell, 2002; Heames and Harvey, 2006; WBI, 2010), and in some cases suicide. A recent example is Kevin Morrissey’s publicly debated suicide, which is suspected to be a result of him enduring ongoing stress from workplace bullying at the Virginia Quarterly Review (Wilson, 2010).

Many of the indirect costs to individual targets add up to become organizational problems, such as toxic work environments in which employees lack the basic level of trust needed for teams to successfully work and produce together.

So, what can be done to prevent workplace bullies in the first place, or keep them at bay? Dr. David Ballard, the head of the American Psychological Association’s Healthy Workplace Program suggests, “Organizational leaders can promote a psychologically healthy workplace by modeling desired behaviors, rewarding pro-social conduct and training managers to identify and address counter-productive interactions. Formal policies regarding bullying and incivility can also help communicate clear expectations and promote a culture of trust and respect.“

The creation of a psychologically healthy workplace is not a new idea in corporate wellness, but it is often ignored in favor of other initiatives such as weight management, nutrition, and health screenings. The American Psychological Association (APA) hosts a resource-rich program called “The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program.”

In the creation of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace, the APA advocates for five types of workplace practices that contribute to a psychologically healthy work environment, including: employee involvement, work-life balance, employee growth and development, health and safety, and employee recognition (Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, 2010).

Focusing on employee “health and safety”, the APA broadens the typical notion of occupational safety to include efforts that improve physical and mental health, reduce health risks, and manage stress effectively. If programs that address those goals are implemented correctly, a company could benefit from greater productivity, reductions in: healthcare costs, absenteeism, and accident and injury rates (Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, 2010). Workplace “bullying” creates a toxic environment for employees, and is one example of what a comprehensive mental health strategy could address.

The notion of “bullies” or “jerks” is nothing new – but the measurement of their effects on our people is astounding, which is why Gold’s Gym, Washington Mutual, Berkshire Hathaway, and Mozilla are a few of the firms that maintain a “no jerk policy” to sustain a healthy work environment (Sutton ,2010). They know bullies affect the bottom line and create toxic environments in which employees become ill and disgruntled.

Corporate Wellness needs to be redefined, to include comprehensive mental health programs and strategies. As an industry, it is essential to focus time and attention on the widespread workplace bullying phenomenon and develop new ways of teaching employees this behavior is unacceptable. One suggestion is for the different parts of an organization to communicate with each other.

If human resources, Employee Assistance Programs, and wellness Directors were all part of a universal plan to prevent bullying and other uncivil behavior among supervisors and peers, perhaps we would all be better off!

 

References

Farrell, L. (2002). Workplace bullying’s high cost: $180M in lost time, productivity. Orlando Business Journal. US: March 15, 2002. Retrieved on September 4, 2010, from http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2002/03/18/focus1.html#ixzz0ynFODaOO.

Heames, J., Harvey, J. (2006). Workplace bullying: a cross-level assessment. Management Decision. London: 2006. Vol. 44, Iss. 9; pg. 1214.

Kesten, G., Savino, K. (2010). The 2010 implementation awards. Speech Technology.

Medford: Jul/Aug 2010. Vol. 15, Iss. 4; pg. 32, 5 pgs.

Know Bull! Australia. (2010). http://www.know-bull.com

Marie, S. (2010). Reacting to abusive managerial behavior: A qualitative phenomenological study. Dissertation, University of Phoenix: Phoenix, AZ, 201 pages; AAT 3415970

Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI). (2010). WBI Zogby Survey Results. The Workplace Bullying Institute.

Retrieved on September 5, 2010, from http://www.workplacebullying.org/research/WBI-Zogby2007Survey.html.

New South Wales Court docket. Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Naidu & Anor; ISS Security Pty Ltd v Naidu & Anor [2007] NSWCA 377.

Retrieved September 5, 2010, from http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCA/2007/377.html.

Sutton, B. (2007).The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. Wilson, R. (2010). What Killed Kevin Morrissey? How the death of an editor threatens the future of the University of Virginia’s prestigious literary review. The Chronicle of Higher Education: August 12, 2010.

Workplace Bullying Institute. (2010). Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://www.workplacebullying.org/research/wbi-studies.html.

Young, L. (2008). Bullying worse than sexual harassment: Study. Canadian HR Reporter. Toronto: April 7, 2008. Vol. 21, Iss. 7; pg. 1, 2 pgs
LaShanda and Rachel welcome your feedback for future articles on this topic. Please write to Ms. Blissett at the email below.

About the Authors

LaShanda Blissett is a PhD student at Capella University, working toward a Doctorate in Education with a specialty in Training and Performance Improvement. She is the Principal Consultant with The Blissett Group, Corp, a management consulting firm based out of Rockville, MD, near Washington, DC. LaShanda has an extensive background in training and performance improvement, primarily on federal government contracts. Her roles have ranged from instructional design consultant to training manager. LaShanda can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at (301) 442-7788.

Rachel Permuth-Levine, PhD, MSPH, is a public health practitioner and an expert in worksite health promotion. As a health behavior theorist, she strives to use evidence-based programs that produce the best results for her employees. Rachel is also a yoga and fitness instructor. Rachel can be reached via email at [email protected].